The nonfat component of the body is termed lean body mass. Body composition, primarily the composition of bone, fat and muscle, also change both absolutely and relatively with increasing age.
Infants average about 10% to 15% fat at birth. This increases to about 30% by 6 months of age and then begins to gradually decline during early childhood.
Percent body fat decreases to age 5, when it reaches 15% for boys and 17% for girls.
From ages 10 to 18 years percent body fat changes little in girls but decreases by about 1 % per year for boys.
The percentage of fat content of the body increases with increasing adult age, and the extent of increase varies among individuals within a population and among different populations.
Those who continue as athletes into advanced ages have a smaller increase in body fat content, but even in these people, some increase does occur.
A high percentage of body fat may be associated with established chronic disease risk factors such as elevated serum cholesterol and triglycerides, glucose and blood pressure.
Fat changes in human body with increasing age
